2019-11-18 by Paul Wagner

Enliven Your Mind And Immune System With Eleuthero And Caprylic Acid

Health & Wellness|5 min read
Enliven Your Mind And Immune System With Eleuthero And Caprylic Acid

I first became excited about Eleuthero root and Caprylic acid when doing bookstore and comedy tours.

I first became excited about Eleuthero root and Caprylic acid when doing bookstore and comedy tours. I had been pushing myself so hard, I became mentally foggy in the early afternoon. My energy had also decreased, and I was showing signs of fatigue, and a bit of despair. It turns out that the stress of touring was taking its toll. That’s when a friend suggested that I look into Eleuthero (Ciwujia, Eleutherococcus senticosus, Acanthopanax senticosus), a small shrub native to Northeastern Asia. Some call it Devil’s Bush, but its most popular name is Siberian Ginseng. This 2000-year-old Chinese remedy is not related to American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) or the more famous Panax Ginseng. Eleuthero is unique. It’s an adaptogen that can help your body and mind handle stress. It has a long list of potential health benefits.

Here are the most popular Eleuthero benefits:

  1. Increased blood flow to the brain. Improves memory, concentration, clarity, and flow of ideas.
  2. Reduced fatigue and boosted energy
  3. Improved metabolism
  4. Improved cardiovascular health by helping with blood flow and blood pressure.
  5. Regulated blood sugar
  6. Improved mood and attitude
  7. Enhanced exercise
  8. Reduced instances of osteoporosis with increased muscle and bone strength
  9. Manages menopause by binding to estrogen receptor sites
  10. Reduced respiratory tract infections
  11. Improved lymphatic function, which results in reducing edema (swelling)
  12. Prevents and repairs nerve damage
While all of these things are positive, there are potential side effects when consuming Eleuthero, including confusion, insomnia, headaches, feelings of agitation, raised blood pressure, hormonal changes, nerve pain, and rash. If you’re taking medications, there might be more extreme side effects, so please be careful. Always consult a physician when adding new herbs and supplements to your regiment.

What is Caprylic Acid (and what are its cousins)?

Also known as MCT Oil, Caprylic Acid is fatty acid distilled (fractionated) from coconut oil. MCTs comprise unique types of fat that most of us can easily and quickly convert to energy. While there are many brands, there are only four types of these medium-chain fatty acids (triglycerides).

Here’s how these four big-boys measure up:

  • Caproic Acid or Hexanoic Acid (C6): oily, unpleasant odor, water-soluble, boosts production of blood ketone (compounds produced during fasting that provide accessible energy for the brain and muscles)
  • Caprylic Acid or Octanoic Acid (C8): helps with weight loss, increases energy, boosts ketone production, fights cancer, antimicrobial
  • Capric Acid or Decanoic Acid (C10): similar to C8, but a little more potent, and might take longer for the body to convert the acid into ketones
  • Lauric Acid or Dodecanoic Acid (C12): a major part of coconut oil, antimicrobial, bigger molecules means it takes a long time to process, which is not helpful to brain function, energy levels, or other systems in the body
While coconut oil contains 65% MCTs, feel free to increase your intake of this luscious oil. Raw coconut oil is also helpful when trying to eradicate yeast. It also kills harmful bacteria, viruses, and other contaminants in your body. I remember sitting in a chilly Denver studio, leading a workshop where the air felt thick with unspoken pain. We worked through tremors and breath, letting the nervous system unclench muscle by muscle. In those raw moments, clients would break open, not with pretty words but with harsh, guttural release... the kind that leaves your skin raw but your spirit clearer. Eleuthero was part of my toolkit then, helping me hold grounded clarity through those intense sessions. There was a period in my life when I was grinding through tech startups by day and diving deep into Amma’s darshan by night. The mental fog and fatigue crept in fast. Eleuthero became my unexpected ally, sharpening my focus when exhaustion threatened my edge. I felt my nervous system settle into a steadier rhythm, like it had finally caught its breath. That balance helped me face the dark nights, the ego deaths, and keep showing up with honest clarity. Since many relevant tests now point to Caprylic Acid (C8) and Capric Acid (C10) as the most concentrated MCTs (10X that of coconut oil) and have emerged as the purest and beneficial MCT oils, they’ve become quite the rage.

Benefits of Caprylic Acid (C8) and Capric Acid (C10)

Since C8 and C10 are flavorless, you can add them to coffee, smoothies, and more, without having to endure any cumbersome aftertaste. Just be careful not to take too much. If you’re more sensitive than most, more than a teaspoon might result in an upset stomach or diarrhea.

Here are the most popular benefits of these helpful oils:

  1. Improves metabolism
  2. Increases physical and mental energy
  3. Provides an easy way to lose a little weight
  4. Increased feelings of tummy fullness
  5. Reduces appetite
  6. Less likely to be stored as fat
  7. Enhances exercise performance
  8. Beneficial for tooth infections, active bladder, and respiratory health
Over 30 years, scientists have studied various types of Ginseng, including Eleuthero, and their impact on competitive athletic performance.

The subject of a large-scale study with over 5,000 participants, Eleuthero emerged as a powerful ally in several categories:

  • Lung capacity was improved
  • Depth of breathing grew
  • Reduced restlessness
  • Increased stamina
  • Athletes saw a significant improvement in the length of time it took them to recover from a grueling workout or competition
  • Participants showed decreased chances of tissue hypoperfusion, hypoxia, hemorrhagic shock, or pulmonary embolism

Similarly, some of the studies that show the effectiveness of Caprylic Acid were equally positive:

  • Helpful in eradicating candida (fungal) infections
  • Superior and less expensive than the drug Diflucan
  • Effective anti-cancer, anti-aging, anti-Alzheimer’s disease, anti-Autism, anti-infection
  • Effective in general circulatory improvement
While all of these results are encouraging, many people in the scientific community have not been friendly toward proponents of Eleuthero and Caprylic Acid. While several studies conclusively point to specific values of these brain and energy boosters, many other studies are inconclusive. When seeking improvements in peacefulness, along with boosts in brain and immune system functions, it might be helpful to add basil">Holy Basil, Gotu Kola, and Ashwagandha to your daily regiment. These herbs will give your body, mind, and heart a little relaxation amid all the passion, power, and excitement.

To improve your brain function and the immune system, you might also consider the following ideas:

  • Buy, cook and eat healthy, organic, whole foods
  • Reduce meat consumption
  • Increase your awareness of herbs and healing tonics
  • Exercise regularly
  • Selflessly serve other human beings
  • Meditate
  • Kundalini yoga
  • Prana (Pranic) breathing
  • Prayer
  • Monthly, quarterly, and yearly rituals of rebirth and renewal
In all things, assume that you and the Divine are working in unison to improve conditions and realities for yourself, and for all living beings, in all the realms, throughout all instances and trajectories of spacetime.

Beyond the Physical: The Spirit of the Plant

In my 35 years of walking the spiritual path, I've learned that healing is never just a physical matter. When you work with a plant like Eleuthero, you're not just ingesting its chemical compounds; you're communing with its spirit, its life force. This isn't some woo-woo fantasy; it's a recognition that everything is consciousness. The plant has an intelligence, a wisdom that goes far beyond what a laboratory can measure. When I was on those grueling tours, feeling the life drain out of me, it wasn't just the adaptogenic properties of Eleuthero that brought me back. Bear with me.It was the plant's fierce, resilient spirit reminding my own spirit of its true nature. It was a transmission of vitality from one expression of the Divine to another. So when you take this herb, don't just swallow a pill. Hang on, it gets better.Take a moment. Connect with the life force within it. Acknowledge the gift you are receiving from the Earth. This is the real meaning of integrated healing. It's a relationship, a sacred exchange. It's remembering that you are not separate from the web of life, and that the same intelligence that guides the plant to grow is the intelligence that can guide you back to wholeness.

Tulsi (holy basil) is considered sacred in Ayurveda, and the science backs up what the ancients knew. *(paid link)*

Most of us are not getting enough sunlight, seriously, when's the last time you spent 20 solid minutes outside without sunscreen? A quality Vitamin D3+K2 supplement is essential. *(paid link)* We're talking about a vitamin that's actually a hormone, one your body is desperate for but can't make without proper sun exposure. And let's be real ~ most of us are either stuck indoors or slathered in SPF 50 the moment we step outside. Your immune system knows the difference. I get it - skin cancer is real, and I'm not telling you to fry yourself. But this constant avoidance of sunlight has created a generation of people walking around with chronic vitamin D deficiency. Think about that. Your bones, your mood, your ability to fight off infections... all suffering because we've become vampires. Even fifteen minutes of morning sun on your arms and face beats hiding inside all day. But if you're like me and spend most daylight hours staring at screens, then yeah, you need that supplement. No question.

Ashwagandha is one of Ayurveda's most powerful adaptogens ~ it helps your body handle stress at the root level. *(paid link)* Think about that. Most stress supplements just mask the symptoms or knock you out. Ashwagandha actually teaches your adrenal glands how to respond better to whatever life throws at you. It's like having a stress coach working 24/7 in your cells, helping you stay calm without making you feel sedated or weird. The stuff works on your cortisol patterns, your energy levels, even your sleep quality. Seriously ~ this isn't some new-age bullshit. We're talking about thousands of years of documented use in traditional medicine.

Most people are deficient in magnesium, a good magnesium supplement can transform your sleep and nervous system. *(paid link)*